Trouble
by StarBlazer124
Summary: After the Doflamingo and family take over an island, Law decides he needs to prove his strength and he drags Baby 5 along.


"St-stay away! I'm warning you! I'm- AGH!" Doflamingo smirked as the man's threat was cut down by Diamante's sword. The tiny island's defense had proven to be all-talk, making it easy for the band of pirates to seize control. An abandoned town created the perfect hideout for the Donquixote Family, as well as providing them with all of the resources they'd need for their next voyage.

"Is that everything?" the captain asked. His shaded eyes scanned the perimeter around their ship. "Anyone else who might give us trouble?"

Instead of a reply, a crash sounded from behind him. Long legs pointed up towards him and black feathers sprawled out from underneath the other blond. Doflamingo chuckled softly as his younger brother struggled to get up without another tumble, until Corazon held out a note for him. "There's a small group of bandits near the Eastern forest." The note was followed by a second. "Senor and I saw them earlier while scouting the terrain. Leader is Wellington."

"The fool with a 10 million beli bounty? He's hardly worth our time. Load up the ship with what you can find. We'll be setting sail in the morning. I don't want that damn Tsuru to catch up to us again."

Not far from where the two brothers stood, three children gathered around the officers, waiting for orders to be given. "That was pathetic. We barely started fighting before the rest of them ran off." Law growled, still itching for a real challenge. "Maybe we _should_ go kill that bandit. He probably has some decent treasure hidden in his base." He smirked as he thought of all the medical books he could buy with his imaginary loot. Unfortunately, the snickers of a certain swordsman pulled him out of the fantasy.

"You think a little brat like you could claim his head? Rhino-Skin Wellington would crush you in an instant!" Diamante cackled.

"I'm not afraid of him!" the boy huffed defensively.

"The Young Master has already decided. You'd be wise to listen. It would be quite galling if you had to be rescued. Galling! There's the 'G'!"

"Lao G is right. Keep your nose out of trouble," Gladius warned.

Law's hands clenched into fists and he glared menacingly at the older Family members. "I'm not weak…" His voice was quiet as he muttered the declaration. In the few months since he'd arrived at Doflamingo's doorstep, the boy had learned that words meant nothing. The majority of the pirates simply scoffed at his threats and boasts. The elite officers in particular loved to mock him, aside from Corazon, whose only goal seemed to be beating Law to a pulp whenever he saw the chance. If he wanted the crew to see his point, he'd have to prove it to them through action.

Marking a successful evening, piles of food and bags of money had been collected from the village's homes. The sun had set beyond the ocean horizon, ushering everyone to their quarters. Law tossed and turned in his cot, struggling to stay awake, though Buffalo's snores roaring across the room were helpful. He couldn't risk falling asleep and screwing up his plans. He had to orchestrate this perfectly.

"Law," a soft feminine voice whispered. "Law, are you awake?" Reaching across the gap that separated their beds, Baby 5 tugged on his sleeve. "Wake up! I want to ask you something!"

He groaned and swatted her hand away. "What do you want?"

"Are you really going to kill Rhino-Skin?"

Stiffening, Law rolled over, facing her. "Why should you care? This doesn't have anything to do with you."

"Because the rest of the Family said not to! You could get into serious trouble if you act so recklessly!" She puffed her cheeks in frustration, growing irritated with her friend's rude attitude. "Besides, if you really wanted to kill him, why are you still in bed? We're sailing away in the morning, remember? I bet you're too scared of the dark to go after him."

"I am not! I need to be able to navigate through the woods and I can only do that once the sun's risen. It should only be a couple more hours, then you'll see how- uh, Baby 5?" Mid-sentence, Law noticed the girl's eyes sparkling and a blush coloring her features in the darkness. Her purely elated expression made him incredibly uncomfortable.

"You need me!" she giggled excitedly.

Grey eyes blinked back in confusion. "What does me needing light have to do with-"

"I can lead you through the forest, even at night! I grew up in the mountains and we travelled around the clock. I can help, Law!" Baby 5 sat straight up, bouncing in place. "Please let me go with you! My Devil Fruit powers could even help take down Wellington! I can be useful!" Her lower lip jutted out into a pout and Law grimaced. Worrying that she'd start crying if he said 'no', he begrudgingly nodded. It wouldn't hurt to get a head-start on his plan. "Ah! Thank you, Law! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I won't let you down!" Baby 5 hopped off the bed and grabbed her hair bow. Tying her purplish-black hair out of her face, she quickly slipped on her shoes, still wearing her outfit from the previous day. "Let's go!"

Law wasted no time in following her actions. Armed with his shoes, hat, and a dagger, he tip-toed behind her through the hallway. As a floorboard creaked, both froze and stared at Corazon's cabin door, fearing the abusive executive would stir. When no crashes sounded, the pair continued. Once on the deck, they eased over the railing and dropped down to the earth below. "Senor was assigned to scout the Eastern side of the island, which is where he and Corazon spotted the bandits. Get us there," Law ordered.

"Hold my hand." Baby 5 clasped their palms together, hanging onto him tightly. "I don't want us to get separated." Before Law was able to protest, the weapon girl dragged him along through the trees. Occasionally, she'd stop and glance up at the sky and then at their surroundings, making adjustments in their direction. It felt like they had been walking for ages and the streaks of pink starting to color the sky told Law that two hours had flown by since they left the ship. Still, Baby 5 had managed to guide them, as the smell and light of a campfire alerted his senses. Bandits slept across the small rocky clearing and a wooden shack sat nestled into the face of the hills. A triumphant smile pulled at the boy's lips as he spotted large treasure chests scattered across the field. They'd reached the jackpot.

Hiding behind the trunk of one of the trees, Law leaned close to Baby 5. "We need to lower their numbers. If I lead some of them back here, do you think you can finish them?"

"Of course! Be careful, though. I haven't seen Wellington yet."

Nodding, Law crept forward into the camp. His knuckles turned white as he clutched the dagger in his right hand. A man laid on his back in front of him, mumbling in his sleep. The blade tore through the tender flesh of the thug's shoulder and he released a satisfying scream. The human alarm woke the rest of the bandits and Law took off when several began to pursue him. Ten men raced into the shade of the forest, promptly being shot down by a gatling gun leg. "Good aim, Baby 5." A few more bullets whizzed past Law as his companion killed another round of goons.

"Law, behind you!"

The raven-haired boy tried to spin around in time to cut down whoever had ambushed him, but a large fist grabbed his arm and held it, weapon and all, in the air, leaving Law dangling in front of the man. "Aren't you a little young to be playing with knives, kid?" the beefy bandit sneered. "It's not a good idea to play with the big boys."

"What's all the fuss about?" A deep voice interrupted the man's taunting as a gargantuan form stepped out from the shack.

"Boss!"

"A couple of brats stormed in and mangled a bunch of the guys!"

'Great,' Law thought bitterly. 'Now Wellington shows himself.'

Wellington scratched his brown beard, assessing the bodies tossed around the treeline. "You mean to tell me a couple of snot-nosed kids killed off some of ya? You're kiddin', right?"

A bandit in a striped shirt approached, pleading with the leader. "But Boss, one of 'em's got some weird powers. She's shape-shifted her leg into a gun! It's gotta be a Devil Fruit!"

"I see. I think I heard about that one. It's aboard that flamingo bastard's ship." Sinister laughter bubbled out from the criminal. "So Mingo thinks he can rob me by sendin' his babies after me! That idiot! He thinks I'll go easy on 'em!"

"I can see why he'd keep the girl, but what's so special about that runt?" One lackey pointed at Law, sizing him up. "He got some sort of secret weapon under that shirt of his?"

Law was yanked up, coming face-to-face with his captor. "Let's find out. Kid seems to like knives after all." The man's free hand pulled up the green shirt, showing nothing but Law's chest. The boy kicked his legs out, trying to land a hit anywhere he could reach. He stopped flailing upon realizing the venomous chortles had stopped. The underlings surrounding the children stared at him in horror, as if he had gained a second head. Suddenly, the bandit holding him threw him into the clearing with a shriek. "He's got them white patches!"

"What's wrong with Doflamingo? Doesn't he know this kid will infect everybody?!"

"Boss, do something!"

Baby 5 ran past them, coming to Law's side. "Are you okay?" she asked. She helped Law back onto his feet, only to be shoved away roughly.

"I'm fine!" he shouted. Clambering onto a nearby crate, Law held his dagger out threateningly to the bandits. "I'll kill each of you bastards! You hear me? I'll cut you all down until you _wish_ that you had Amber Lead Poisoning!" His anger shifted toward the man in the captain's coat. "Fight me, Wellington! Your 10 million beli bounty is mine!"

"Ha! As if I'd let myself be killed by some sorry excuse of a human! The White Town was destined to fall the moment its people settled and those idiots they called doctors were only delaying the inevitable. Face it, brat, you should have died with the rest of yer kind and rid the world of yer filth!"

"SHUT UP!" Law raised the knife, aiming for Wellington's throat. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Before he lunged forward, the bandit leader dove, crushing him into the crate he had been standing on. Law clawed at the gigantic hand, desperate to stop the strangling. He wasn't able to breathe well and the lack of oxygen was already bringing darkness into the corners of his vision, despite the bright sunlight that had risen since the start of their attack.

"Leave him alone!" _Pow!_ Baby 5 fired, landing a bullet on Wellington's face. To her surprise, however, the bullet bounced off, like a tiny bug, falling to her feet.

Wellington paused his attack on Law long enough to glance at Baby 5 and slap her away. "Now you know why they call me 'Rhino-Skin'!" The girl screamed as she was hit and collided with a pair of strong legs. The glint of metal in the light caught Law's attention and his eyes widened as he gazed at the larger dagger in Wellington's clutches. Gritting his teeth, Law struggled harder to escape, fearing, for the first time, that his death would come sooner than he'd planned. "End of the line, kid!"

'This can't be how I die!'

"URK!" Law's eyes flew open upon hearing the pained grunt. Wellington was now face-down in the dirt, his coat ripped apart by several bloody slashes.

Then he heard Baby 5's cries. "Thank you, Young Master! I'm s-sorry! We tried our best!" Something pulled Law out from underneath the bandit and placed him safely onto his feet. Strings detached themselves from his clothes, returning to their puppeteer. There, looming over Law, was Doflamingo, looking incredibly pissed. Baby 5 clung to the leg of his fiery patterned pants, sobbing in relief, while the rest of the crew gathered the treasure chests.

"Law…" Doflamingo drawled. The boy stared at the ground, knowing he was in serious trouble. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm alright."

"Good. We're returning to the ship." Straightening his tie, the captain turned and walked away, not bothering to remove the hysterical child on his leg.

Law stood in a daze, unsure of how to feel, until something soft came to rest on his foot. There, looking rather dirty and beaten up, was his favorite white speckled hat. He hadn't even realized it had fallen off. Sitting across from him against one of the chests, Corazon scribbled wildly onto a sheet of paper. "That was a stupid idea," the note began. "Jumping wildly into danger, you and Baby 5 could have easily been killed. If Buffalo hadn't noticed you were both missing, we might have gotten here too late." The executive glowered at him intensely, gripping his cigarette in tense fingers.

Once more, Law stared down at the man who had almost slaughtered him moments ago. Now that he was dead, the bandit's words should mean nothing to him, but they still stung like salt in an old wound. With a harsh tug, Law pulled his hat over his eyes, hiding his tears with the brim's shadow.

The blond didn't lecture him further, respecting that he needed his space for a moment. Instead, he clicked his lighter open and lit the cigarette between his lips. The feathers of his mantle became ablaze.

"Damn it, Corazon!" Gladius screeched from up the hill, "You're on fire again!"

 **(A.N. And we're done with the most recent one-shot, at 2341 words, no less! This sucker is my longest piece yet, despite being inspired by maybe 10 seconds of the show. I'm really hoping you all like this one, because I spent all night writing it on no sleep and about a quart of caffeine in the form of tea. My brain is officially gone…but I still have way more to do! Yippee! It's totally worth it for you guys. Thanks!)**


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